Comparing policies for children of parents attending hospital emergency departments after intimate partner violence, substance abuse or suicide attempt.

To improve identification of child maltreatment, a new policy (ÔHague protocolÕ) was implemented in hospitals in The Netherlands, stating that adults attending the hospital emergency department after intimate partner violence, substance abuse or a suicide attempt should be asked whether they care for children. If so, these children are referred to the Reporting Center for […]

Emotion dysregulation and negative affect: association with psychiatric symptoms.

Objective: A growing body of research focuses on the development and correlates of emotion dysregulation, or deficits in the ability to regulate intense and shifting emotional states. Current models of psychopathology have incorporated the construct of emotion dysregulation, suggesting its unique and interactive contributions, along with childhood disruptive experiences and negative affect, in producing symptomatic […]

The Effectiveness of a Deliberate Self Harm Service

The psychiatric service provided for the assessment of Welsh patients admitted to a district general hospital following deliberate self-harm was evaluated. The service was modified as a result of the findings. A re-evaluation was done one year later to measure the effectiveness of the changes that were made. (14 refs.)

Assessing Perturbation and Suicide in Families

Perturbation refers to a client’s level or degree of emotional pain. Such perturbation has been identified as a critical component in a family member’s suicide ideation. This article describes how to assess perturbation by using scaling questions & how to process the impact of a suicidal family member’s perturbation. (28 refs.)

Changes in Mental Health Policy and Their Influence on Self-Injurious Behaviours in the Israeli Military Prison System

Objective: Self-injurious behaviours (SIBs) are widespread among prisoners and are sometimes classified as potentially calculated acts intended to control others. Access to a psychiatrist may be valued by imprisoned soldiers seeking immediate release from service. The main goal of the study was to assess the effects of a new mental health regulation in the Israel […]

Nonverbal Communication in Doctor-suicidal Patient Interview (IN: The Hidden Structure of Interaction: From Neurons to Culture Patterns, ed. by L Anolli, S Duncan, M S Magnusson and G Riva)

Psychiatric Aspects of Chronic Exposure to Organophosphates: Diagnosis and Management

For a related article which covers the background to COPIND, please see SIEC #2005-0025

Monitoring of Threatening Experiences in Suicide Attempters: Verbal Reports, Behaviour and Electro Dermal Activity

Published in “The Suicidal Process: Challenges for Treatment and Prevention”

Classification of Suicidal Patients: Pilot Test of a New Instrument

The Oregon Experiment (IN: The Case Against Assisted Suicide, ed. by K Foley & H Hendin)

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Deliberate Self-Harm Patients who Leave the Accident and Emergency Department Without a Psychiatric Assessment: a Neglected Population at Risk of Suicide

The characteristics & outcome of deliberate self-harm (DSH) patients discharged directly from accident & emergeny (A&E) departments over a 2-year period were investigated, comparing those who had a psychiatric assessment with those who did not. The authors found that 58.9% patients did not have a psychiatric assessment. Nonassessed patients were more likely to have a […]

Suicide is an Action – or: we are the Agents of our Lives

Published in “Suicide Risk & Protective Factors in the New Millennium,” ed. by O T Grad

Interviewing Prepubertal Children About Suicidal Ideation and Behavior

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Interviewing the Patient With Schizophrenia (IN: Schizophrenia: a new Guide for Clinicians, ed. by J G Csernansky)

This chapter suggests several ways to communicate with people with schizophrenia during treatment. 5 vignettes of interviews with schizophrenic patients are presented. A discussion of relaxing & addressing ambivalent patients is included. Questions for assessing suicidal risk in schizophrenic patients are suggested. Frequency, duration, & responses to suicidal thoughts are identified as important factors in […]

Consultation Versus Research Diagnoses of Mental Disorders Among Suicide Attempters

The authors investigated discrepancies between the routine psychiatric emergency consultation & the research diagnoses of mental disorders among suicide attempters. The findings presented, based on a sample 114 suicide attempters in Helsinki, suggest that important medical disorders, & their comorbidity, are often not diagnosed in emergency consultations. (22 refs)

Suicidal Thoughts and Associated Factors in an Elderly Population

This study examined the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and associated factors in an elderly population. In total, it was found that 13.3% of the subjects assessed had had suicidal thoughts during two weeks prior to being interviewed. 50% of those who had frequent suicidal thoughts were found to be depressed. In addition, suicidal thoughts were […]

Don’t Look in the Pineal Body: Letter Across the Pacific

The author discusses the notion of courage in relation to suicide. He argues there is something in most people that enables them to carry on in the face of devastation, but that this is lacking/lost in people who complete suicide. He indicates that the job of a good psychiatrist is to keep a patient’s courage […]

Psychiatric Consultations in a Southern University Hospital

Differences in psychiatric referral rates among demographic groups of general hospital patients between 1995 & 1998 in a southern university setting were studied. The contribution of suicide attempts to referral rates was assessed. Psychiatric consultations were done in 2% of all admissions. Age, race, & admitting service were found to be independently associated with psychiatric […]

Should Psychiatrists Serve as Gatekeepers for Physician-Assisted Suicide?

Mandating psychiatric evaluation for patients who request physician-assisted suicide may not offer the clearcut protection from possible coercion or other abuse that proponents assert. Competence itself is a complex concept & determinations of decision-making capacity are not straightforward, nor is the relationship between mental illness & decision-making capacity in dying patients clearly understood. Casting psychiatrists […]

Culture and Suicide: From a Japanese Psychiatrist’s Perspective

In this paper the author states that despite research focusing on culture & suicide, it appears that there are more similarities than differences in suicide among various cultures. The article explains how the author, a Japanese psychiatrist, diagnoses & treats suicidal patients against the background of Japanese culture. He presents case studies from his daily […]

Socio-Cultural Determinants of Psychiatric Symptomatology in James Bay Cree Children and Adolescents

The types of psychiatric disorders found in 100 Cree children living in a northern Quebec community were examined using standardized semi-structured interviews given to the children & their caregivers. 24 items of information were collected. Of the 35 adolescents girls in the sample, 18 had attempted suicide. Of these 18, 50% had parents with more […]

How Clinicians Assess Suicide Risk in Adolescents & Adults

A sample of 94 psychologists, psychiatrist & clinical social workers provided data concerning their use of suicide assessment instruments, psychological tests, interview questions, & clinical observations to assess suicide risk in adolescent & adult populations. Suicide assessment instruments are used infrequently & are rated as having limited usefulness. It appears that clinicians overwhelmingly use interviews […]

Assessment and Early Intervention (IN: Preventing Elderly Suicide: Overcoming Personal Despair, Professional Neglect, and Social Bias, by J Richman)

This chapter places the integration of demographic & epidemiological data, recognition signs, family characteristics, & recovery factors within a comprehensive assessment process. Using a case example, checklists presented in other chapters are rated & overall risk of suicide is discussed. Other approaches to assessment & testing of the elderly are discussed. Assessment procedures including individual […]